


MegaMan: Forgotten Legends

by Nikki_Writes



Category: Megaman - Fandom
Genre: 20XX, Dr Light - Freeform, Fights, Gen, Hatred, Legends, Not my thing, OC, Original Characters - Freeform, Platonic Relationships, Protoman - Freeform, Rivalry, Robots, Secret Crush, after i finish this first one, battles, dr wily, female oc - Freeform, female original characters, finding and coming up with tags is so difficult when there are no suggestions, forgotten legends, i dont even know rn, i guess, im trying so fight me, its gon be a series, megaman, not really going to develop romantic relationships, robot doesnt know its not human, robot thinks its a human, so im writing some, there are like no megaman fanfics out there, why is megaman not an included fandom on here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-23
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2018-12-19 03:08:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11888673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nikki_Writes/pseuds/Nikki_Writes
Summary: The year's 20XX, and a lot has been happening.  Since Wily has shown up as a potential threat to the safety of the world, heroes have arisen to stick up for the poor, defenseless humans; even if they are humans themselves.  People and robots alike are risking their necks to save the world.  Whether they are engineers making weaponry, scientists creating the robots, or the robots themselves, things are being done.  But, sometimes, it just isn't enough.Rock had been a domestic robot, who, after learning his younger siblings, the other Light Numbers, were being made to do wrong things by Dr. Wily, demanded to become MegaMan.  But, what many people have long forgotten, and still fail to notice, is that there was someone before MegaMan, and they're still out there.----disclaimerI don not own Mega Man, Capcom doesStory and original characters belong to me





	1. Chapter 1

“Good evening, citizens!” Plum greets all watchers from the TV.  “As you all know, Wily’s past attacks have been pushing back the opening of the new plaza.  Thanks to a week of peace-filled days, they’ve finally decided to open it!” Plum makes a gesture to the left of her, and the camera follows to show the new plaza.

Children, students, and adults roam the stores, eagerly looking through the windows of media centers.

“As you can see, people are already enjoying a nice shopping experience after work and school.  There’s no doubt that the construction forces will be well rewarded for their hard work.  Back to you, Chest.!” The purple haired news robot calls with a wave, and her screen shrinks to take up half of the television screen.  Another half-screen appears showing the news room.

“Thank you, Plum.” Chest, another news robot, says with a smile. “On to other news-” Chest is cut off by the sound of explosions and screams. “Plum?!  What’s going on?!”

“It-it looks like…  No, it is!” Plum exclaims, her screen growing back to full size again. “Wily robots are attacking the plaza!”

The camera turns to view the dispersing dust cloud, revealing three of Wily’s robots: Crash Man, Metal Man, and Magnet Man.  People run, screaming, out of the plaza as more explosions shake the buildings.  Plum, paralyzed by fear, does not get out before the exits are sealed off by rubble.

One of Crash Man’s Crash Bombs explodes very close to the purple haired robot’s news crew, scattering large chunks of debris.  Plum gets on her knees and covers her head with her hands in attempts to protect herself.  Her fellow news crew robots, only following their programming to record, make no attempts to protect themselves, and most are crushed by the falling rubble.

The surviving camera looks up as Plum lets out a shrill scream, and a large piece of building begins to fall towards them.  A flash interrupts the footage, and an explosion follows.  The top half of the falling building explodes into pebbles, and Plum looks up.  Tears blurring her vision, she squeaks out the name of the familiar figure.

“Mega Man…” She mutters, wiping tears from her eyes.  Vision cleared, she finds that the figure is not Mega Man at all.  Instead, it is another robot in purple and gray armor, black shades block his eyes, and a long red ponytail pours out of the back of his helmet. “Who…?”

The unfamiliar character turns to face the three enemy robots, and draws a large sword from under his wild hair.  Planting his feet, the robot speaks.

“I won’t allow you to get away with disturbing the peace of this city.” He says in a cold monotone.  The Wily robots scoff, and the purple clad robot rushes at them.

Each robot attempts to stop the new hero, but to no avail.  Metal Man’s saw blades are knocked away.  Crash Man’s Crash Bombs avoided.  Magnet Man attempts to slow the robot down with a magnetic pull, and it works.  With his reaction time slowed, the robot masters’ attacks finally begin to work, but only for a short time.

The new robot stops resisting the pull, and runs towards Magnet Man instead.  Once close enough, the purple robot swings his sword, hitting Magnet Man with the flat of the blade.  The red clad robot master is sent flying into a building, causing more rubble to fall.

“Magnet Man!” Crash Man and Metal Man yell.

The purple armored robot turns back to them, sword ready.  The Wily robots don’t seem ready to give in.

Many curious eyes watch as the mysterious robot continues to fight against the two remaining Wily numbers.  They all share the same thoughts.  Where is Mega Man?  Why is this unnamed robot fighting in his place?

With two plasma shots from his buster, the robot knocks Crash Man and Metal Man into two separate buildings.  They now know the difference between this robot and Mega Man.  This robot is out for blood.  If they don’t find a way to escape soon, they’ll be killed.

Crash Man fires more bombs, and Metal Man throws more Metal Blades.  The purple robot can’t dodge all of the attacks, and takes a couple of Metal Man’s blades in order to avoid Crash Man’s bombs.  The bombs hit the building behind the unnamed robot, and blow out the wall.  This causes the building to collapse, and a great dust cloud to gather.  A lot of coughing can be heard as the dust disperses.

By the time the dust has cleared enough to see, the Wily numbers have already left, leaving a trail of oil and rubble in their wake.

Plum and the camera robot turn to face the mysterious robot. “Is… is it over?” she asks between coughs.

“They ran away.” She hears him say. “Cowards.” With that, the mysterious robot runs deeper into the dust before disappearing completely.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These chapters seem to be kind of short right now. They should get longer as I write. sorry.

Civilians hurry home once the battle ends and the Wily robots retreat.  Some are disappointed with the day’s events; others are too shaken to care.  School friends say their good-byes and head their separate ways, and clear the streets as a certain red head runs past.

Nichole Hastings is her name.  An engineer prodigy in weaponry and transportation, she attends the local high school in hope of going to a good robotics college.  No one knows why she's suddenly into the robotics field, though.  Throughout the years she's show absolutely no interest in it, until recently.

She runs all the way to the west side of the city, and continues on from there to a secluded house not too far from the city.  Nichole prefers the quiet country side, but it's hard to find these days.  So, she’s currently stuck with her family's old house about a mile from the big city.

The moment she opens the door and takes off her shoes, she receives a greeting from the living room. "Looks like Nik's making his comeback."  A black-haired boy wearing sunglasses and a yellow scarf says from the couch.

"Really?!" Nichole asks, excitement apparent in her voice.

"Yeah.  The attack on the plaza was taken care of by him." The boy replies.

"Yeah, I almost got caught in the middle of it." Nichole says, sitting next to the boy on the couch. "So, Blues, when did you decide to come back?"

"Today." Blues responds, his eyes appearing to never leave the television. "This is the only place I have to return to after all."

"I don't believe they're quite ready for Nik's return though." Blues continues, drawing Nichole's attention from him to the TV.

Playing across the screen are some clips of the battle which may have caused more damage to the already destroyed plaza.  A small debate is going on about whether or not this mysterious robot could be considered an actual hero.  Especially when the amount of damage that was done was taken into consideration.  They also go on to complain about how merciless this new hero was.

"Apparently they're not ready for someone who is willing to end the battle." Blues says.

Nichole scoffs.  "That's the kind of hero we need.  Does Megaman really think his merciful habits are going to rub off on Wily, and he'll stop trying to take over the world?" Nichole's eyes never leave the screen as she listens to Plum make a weak attempt to stand up for the purple-clad robot. "If something's not done about those Wily numbers, someone's going to get seriously hurt, and he’s not going to be able to do anything about it.”

Blues’ eyes flash over to the ginger haired girl for a moment before returning his shaded gaze back to the television.Some familiar faces pop up on the screen behind the reporters: Dr. Light and Rock.

“Dr. Light,” Chest begins, “what do you and Mega Man think about this sudden new hero?”

“Well, he did save a lot of lives…” Rock begins, but is interrupted by the head of the construction projects.

“But think about the damage he caused to the new plaza!”

“Yes, there was an awful lot of damage dealt, but not even Mega Man gets out of a battle without damage being dealt to his surroundings.” Dr. Light says.

“And what happens when someone gets in the way?This robot doesn’t seem the type to stop because a civilian accidentally steps in.” Another man says.

“I’ll step in if needed.” Rock says.

“And what if he doesn’t stop?What happens if he kills you?” The man continues.

“I don’t foresee that happening.” Dr. Light says, and they lose connection.

Despite Dr. Light’s words, Nichole is unhappy.Her hero saved many people, though it cost the city the new plaza, and they dare call him a villain!

Blues glances over at the red haired girl.Smoke may as well be coming out of her ears, she looks so mad.Her hands are clenched so tightly into fists, her knuckles are turning white.Silently, he turns off the TV.


	3. Chapter 3

Things continue on rather normal the next day despite the open debate amongst the town about the “new hero”. Nichole sighs to herself as she walks through the halls of her high school, the negative feedback really getting her down. She’s completely aware of her hero’s ruthless ways, but it all seems necessary under the current circumstances. A mad man is trying to take over the world. What good is continuously sparing his creations’ lives if they’re just going to come back and hurt more people?

Someone nudges Nichole’s shoulder. She looks up to see her friend Hiroko. Nichole smiles slightly at the brunette who smiles back. “So, I’ve been hearing a lot of talk today about a purple armored robot,” Hiroko starts, “Is that the unrecognized hero you were talking about?”

Nichole nods in reply. “Nik. Yeah, that’s him.”

“People don’t seem to think him much a hero.” The brunette notes. Nichole nods again, chewing absentmindedly on her thumbnail. She and Hiroko go back about a month or two, but that doesn’t mean the redhead expects her to agree with her perception of a hero. “He kind of takes things into his own hands, doesn’t he? He doesn’t seem the type to take orders.”

“He doesn’t, take orders I mean. I think that’s what scares people. The fact that he’s completely free-thinking, on his own, non-hesitant.” Nichole says, turning into their robotics class. She smiles slightly, remembering how she and her friend had never realized that they shared this class, or even went to the same school for that matter.

The bell rings, and they part to their seats, Nichole towards the back and Hiroko in the first row. And the classes dragged on from there. With no friends in any other classes, Nichole’s day moves rather sluggishly, but it ends with the ring of a bell dismissing all students.

“So, I never got to ask, but how’s Blues?” Hiroko asks, meeting up with her long-haired friend at the door.

Nichole had almost forgotten the last time Hiroko saw Blues: It was on the day they met, and Nichole was in a frenzy to find her robot friend. They happened to run into each other (literally), and, after collecting themselves and trading introductions, Hiroko offered to help find the missing Blues. They did find him, leaning against a wall in an ally. He was hesitant to accept any help from the brunette human at first, but had little choice. After a make-shift patch up, Nichole brought them back to her residence, where she completely fixed Blues. Hiroko left while he was asleep.

“He’s fine now. Just got back from another one of his disappearances.” Nichole replies with a worried half smile.

“He’s really going to get himself hurt doing stuff like that…” Hiroko says, pursing her lips.

“He can handle himself. He’s Blues. Proto Man. I’m sure he’ll be fine, and if he’s ever gone for too long, we’ll just have to go looking for him again.”

The slightly shorter brunette nods, and they start walking out towards Nichole’s home on the western border of town. They chat about classes on the way there, the easy ones, the difficult ones, tests they need to study for. That’s their plans for the afternoon, actually. Hiroko needs some help studying for some tests in different robotics classes, and they both need to study for Trig.

Little did they know, fate had other plans for them. Or, rather, they get caught up in conversation with Blues upon crossing the threshold. Hiroko greets him as soon as she enters, and all Blues has to say is: “Oh… It’s you…”

Hiroko frowns, standing in front of the well-dressed robot. “Do you mind?” He asks, motioning to the TV that was turned onto the news, like usual. “I like to keep myself updated on the daily events.”

“Nothing happened today, did it, Blues?” Nichole asks, unpacking her schoolbag at the kitchen table.

“Nothing major, but people still don’t seem to be convinced Nik is on their side.” Blues replies.

Nichole frowns, rolling her eyes. Of course no one can see things simply, they have to over-complicate matters and confuse facts. Sometimes even confuse reality with fantasy and crap made up by the media. Nichole knows the truth, so does Blues. But everyone else is single-minded in their beliefs. Brainwashed by their “hero” Mega Man’s pacifism and cowardice. She can’t help but scoff.

“You seem to know an awful lot about Nik, Nichole,” Hiroko starts, looking over at the ginger, “I can’t believe I didn’t notice it earlier.”

Nichole begins looking a bit uncomfortable, exchanging worried looks with Blues. She can’t quite see his eyes, but he gives off a panicked vibe.

“Do you know him? Like, personally?”

Nichole lets go of the breath she was holding. That was what she was suspecting?

“Did he save you once? Twice?” Hiroko continues, blurting out another possibility that suddenly came to mind.  
Nichole crosses her arms in front of herself. “No, no. We don’t know each other at all. I mean, maybe he could have some link to the Hastings name, but I wouldn’t know anything about that.”

“Well, what about you, Blues?” Hiroko continues with her interrogation.

“Of course I know him.” Blues says, and Hiroko facepalms. “I’ve fought with him a couple times when the odds seemed unfavorable, but other than that I tend to stay out of the way. He doesn’t exactly like help.”

She should have known his answer would be vague.

Hiroko puffs out her cheeks in a pout. She was so sure she had the truth within her grasp, but, like smoke, it continues to evade her. She feels there’s something Nichole and Blues aren’t telling her, but she doesn’t have any idea what. It’s not like she can just accuse them of lying to her. That could ruin their friendship!

“So, about that studying?” Nichole interrupts her thoughts, pointing over her shoulder at the kitchen table that is all set for their study session.

Hiroko agrees to continue with their original plans, taking her seat at the table. Nichole sits across from her, opening a robotics book, her friend doing the same. In their hours of studying, Blues is called over to simplify things a couple of times. But, no matter what, Hiroko can’t seem to concentrate. Who is Nik really? And what are her friends hiding from her? That’s the especially important question, but it most likely won’t be answered for a very long time.

Hiroko sighs. This action takes Nichole’s attention away from the passage she was reading aloud. She notices the frown across the brunette’s face.

“Let’s call it a night, Hiroko.” She suggests, drawing Hiroko from her daze. “You look tired. Do you need anyone to walk you home?”  
Hiroko shakes her head no, and begins packing up her studying materials. Nichole does the same. They make plans for tomorrow, and the guest walks out the door.

“She had me worried there for a moment.” Blues says, turning off the TV “She was hardly paying attention through the whole session. So, you think she’s figured it out?”

“No. I don’t think so.” Nichole replies, sitting next to the black-haired robot. “I have no doubt she will someday, though. And I don’t think she’ll ever forgive me if she does…”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welp, it looked a lot longer than it is in Microsoft Word. Sorry, it's a bit short

About a week passes, and the big tests in robotics crashes down on the students. All except for Nichole, who was already familiar with most of the materials. Even Hiroko was more prepared than she thought she would be thanks to her studying with Nichole and Blues.

“See? That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Nichole asks as they’re walking out of school at the end of the day.

“It wasn’t easy if that’s what you’re getting at.” Hiroko replies, looking exhausted as they exit the school.

Nichole laughs at her friend’s expression, one of misery mixed with happiness. She’s obviously glad there won’t be another test for a while. In celebration of their passing, the ginger offers to buy them some ice cream. This gets Hiroko perked up again. Nothing makes a teenage girl happier than free ice cream after an exhausting school day.

They rush down the street, catching a bus to get to the main part of town. It’s not a long walk, but neither of them wanted to hike it. They chat pleasantly about small things on the way, occasionally glancing out the window. However, their conversation stops abruptly when the bus quickly halts. They lurch forward in their seats, nearly slamming their faces into the metal seat frames in front of them.

There’s a loud commotion, yelling, and explosions. There must be another battle. There’s no doubt about it in either of their minds when a powerful blaster shot hits the ground only feet away from the bus. The bus driver abandoned his seat, everyone is fleeing, jumping out all exits they managed to force open.

Hiroko freezes on the spot.

“Hiroko, we need to move.” Nichole says, tugging the brunette by her arm.

Once they were on the street, they took off in the opposite direction of the battle. Hiroko notices Nichole’s hesitance. She feels it, too. The strong need to help others runs through her, but she knows there’s nothing either of them can do. She needs to get Hiroko to safety. Others, humans and robots alike, run around the two high school students, occasionally bumping into them, nearly knocking one or the other over. No one dares to look behind them.

This, however, is not a good thing.

They never saw it coming. They heard the familiar yell of Mega Man, but they never thought he was yelling in their direction. Hiroko is the only one to look back. She sees what  
Mega Man is trying to warn them about, trying to save them from.

Their bus is now flying through the air towards them. It will land any second, crushing them if they don’t stop. So, that’s exactly what she does. She stops, nearly pulling Nichole back, but the red-head, instead, stumbles forward. When she looks back at her friend, absolutely terrified, she sees why she stopped.

There’s not enough time for her to move now. Hiroko starts towards her, also expressing terror. Does she hope to push her friend out of the way? Will she have to –

There’s a familiar tune floating through the air. At the last possible second, Hiroko is pushed harshly back, and Nichole is pulled out of the path of the bus. There’s a loud crash, a blast of wind, the ground shakes below them as the bus hits the ground. An explosion soon follows. Glass and rubble fly through the air, dust rises high off of the ground. Almost nothing is visible but the silhouette of figures close by and the wrecked bus. The flames from the fires do little to light up the surrounding area. Hiroko crawls her way over to the wreckage, mindful of rubble, and what looked like unconscious figures. No doubt people died in this incident.

“N-Nichole!” She called, hoping she can be heard on the other side.

Silence.

Hiroko coughs, grabbing her ribcage in pain. She manages to squeak out her friend’s name again. This time, getting a reply.

“Nichole is fine. Just unconscious.” The familiar voice of the red-clad neutral party, Proto Man. “I’m going to get her out of harm’s way, then I’ll come back for you.”

The brunette shakily sits on the ground, curling in on herself. She hears Proto Man running off, presumably with Nichole in his arms. There’s no telling where he’s taking her. Probably to her home, meaning it could be a while before he gets back.

Another set of footsteps is heard, these being much closer. They’re heading her way. Someone’s coming. They’re too heavy to be a human. Coming into view is the silhouette of a black robot. The blue triangle on his chest glows, but not as brightly as the malice in his red eyes. Hiroko freezes in fear, unable to take her eyes off of the robot. She’s trembling, a cold sweat breaking out on her forehead. His eyes flash over in her direction, and she knows she’s been seen. Probably the first conscious, or even living, human he’s seen so far. She closes her eyes as he raises his arm, awaiting the killing blow.

But it never comes.

Instead, she hears the sound of metal clashing against metal. Then the sound of a buster. Opening her eyes, she sees through the slowly dispersing dust, the figure of Nik, his sword forcing the new Robot Master’s smoking buster towards the sky. The mystery robot’s red eyes glare into the visor of the purple hero. They separate from each other, glaring one another down. They begin to charge at one another again. The black-clad robot shooting Nik in the leg, Nik cutting off his buster arm shortly after. That’s all there is to the battle. They both quickly run off in opposite directions.

Not long later, Proto Man appears to get Hiroko, apologizing for the wait.

“Nichole needed immediate treatment to a burn on her leg from the explosion. I pushed you far enough away, didn’t I?”

“I didn’t get burned, but I may have a cracked rib or two.” Hiroko mutters as Proto Man picks her up.

“I’ll take you to the same hospital I took Nichole. It’s a small ways off, but their treatment’s fast and thorough.”

Hiroko nods, and they take off.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the new chapter is so late!! College is a bitch, I got hooked into a business competition, and I got involved in some new fandoms. I chose to write for and update this one because it's easier, for any of you who may be reading my SPN fanfic, too, I lost my notes for the new chapter, but once things calm down, I hope to and plan to update it ASAP. My Beta Reader for it is really busy now, too.

The hospital is crammed, plenty of patients are standing in the ER since all those who can’t have taken up all the seats. Hiroko happened to be one of those lucky few. Doctors and nurses – robots and humans alike – rush around the room, patching up those they can take care of quickly and moving those they can’t to hospital beds for proper treatment. Hiroko had heard being in a hospital during a Wily attack wasn’t fun, and now she sees why.

Not long ago, Proto Man had transported her to this hospital. They had gotten there early enough for her to get treated, though there’s not much they can do for cracked ribs. They gave her some pain medication and instructions on the best way for her to heal, then sent her on her way. She’s sitting in the ER waiting room now for Nichole and Blues. It hasn’t been too long, but she does find herself worrying.

Of course, not long after that thought crosses her mind, Nichole comes limping her way, Blues not far behind. Nichole’s leg is all wrapped up, her uniform is singed a bit, too. Blues doesn’t seem worried, though. Not that Hiroko can read his emotions much with his sunglasses obscuring his eyes.

Hiroko gets up slowly to avoid pain shooting up through her ribs. “Are you alright, Nichole? That looks pretty bad…”

Noticing her concern, Nichole gives her friend a small smile. I’m fine, it looks worse than it is. Don’t worry too much.” She glances over her shoulder at Blues, before looking back to the brunette standing in   
front of her. “Blues and I are going to walk you home. Can’t have you running into any trouble on the way. Not in your condition.”

“But, your leg-“

“It's fine. It’s just a burn. A couple weeks of burn cream, some medicine, and I’ll be good as new. You’re the one we need to watch out for. Blues told me you cracked some of your ribs.”

Hiroko nods. As much as she wants her friend to go straight home herself, neither of them are in any shape to travel alone.

“I would say we could catch a bus to shorten the trip, but after what just happened I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.” Nichole laughs, trying to lighten the atmosphere. “We’re already on your side of town anyway. It won’t be any trouble.”

Hiroko nods again, giving a small smile at Nichole’s attempt at a joke. “After all that’s happened, I’m not sure I want to board a bus ever again.” Her two companions agree, and they push the hospital doors open.

It’s a twenty minute walk from the hospital to Hiroko’s house. It’s doubled with them being injured, taking approximately forty. They part with smiles and wishing each other well. Once Hiroko’s door closes, Nichole’s smile falls.

They do end up taking a bus to their end of town – it would take them more than a few hours by foot with her injury. The ride is silent with Nichole scrolling through her phone, reading over the news stories regarding the incident. Several people had died, but most were saved, some in critical condition. Some stories focus on Mega Man’s fights, but some veer off and discuss the Purple Armored Hero Nik.

Nichole focuses on these stories, scrolling through and absorbing every word. Most reporters, again, criticize his methods. He took off the main attacking robot’s arm without hesitation. Something not so strange, all things considered. Perhaps they see it as so negative because that’s usually something the Wily Numbers are doing to Mega Man instead of the other way around.

A couple interviews revolve around a strange robot with a long ponytail saving them. Be it fending off offending robots, moving them to safer areas, or – for those who couldn’t be moved due to their injuries – directing medical personnel to them. It was a lot more difficult to argue against those factors. Still, Nik could never compare to Mega Man in the public’s eye.

Another section of the media focused on this new threat. This new Wily Number clad in black, with the violent temper, and with even less mercy than any other robot master before. According to Mega Man, the robot   
master called himself Bass, and declared himself the “Ultimate Robot”. Yet, he failed to defeat either of the robots fighting back against him. He retreated one arm short.

“It’ll take more than a few fights for the public to change their minds about him, just be patient.” Blues says quietly so he doesn’t disturb the quiet of the bus.

“Do you know anything about this Bass character?” Nichole asks as the bus stops and they move off the transport.

“Not much. He’s the newest Robot Master, but that much was obvious. He seems to be stronger than the others before, too.” He responds, talking louder once the bus doors close.

They begin the ten minute trek back to Nichole’s home, continuing to swap notes on the black clad villain. He’s destructive, much more ruthless than his brothers before him, and they can’t deny he’s strong.

“But, he’s also incredibly impulsive and self-destructive. He rushed into that fight, and almost refused to leave until his buster arm was lost. If not for that, he would have kept on, no matter how badly he was injured.” Blues adds.

“Right. He seems to have more flaws than anything.” Nichole comments. Now back in her home, they had started taking notes on the new Wily Number. His strength is something to be reckoned with, and his determination is unfaltering, not to mention his temper. These factors combined make for a rather terrifying opponent, especially when matched with Mega Man on the battlefield. A smile reaches across Nichole’s face. There may be hope for Nik yet.


	6. Chapter 6

After a day of recovery on Sunday, the girls return to the school buzzing. Like always, they walk together to their morning robotics class, but this time they can’t get to their seats. Once they walk through the door and Nichole’s injury is spotted, she’s immediately asked about it. She confirms to her curious classmates that it is from the attack on Saturday, and that’s when it all begins.

Nichole and Hiroko – once the class realizes she was there, too – are bombarded with questions before they’re even given a chance to sit down. Nichole isn’t asked as much, though, once they find out she was quickly rendered unconscious in the attack.

Attention and questions then turn to Hiroko. “Were you injured?”, “Was it scary? It must have been traumatizing!”, “Did you see the robots fighting?”

She answers each question in turn. Yes, she was injured. Just a few cracked ribs. Yes, it was… terrifying. She doesn’t say it out loud, but she didn’t sleep well that night, or the night after.

The robots? Yeah. She saw them. The attacking robot’s fiery gaze is burned into her mind’s eye, leering at her through the smoke of the wreckage. The glow of his buster as he aimed it at her face – also red. Then, red hair.

She tells them about her experience in the attack. How the robot master came at her with murderous intent, and how a purple-clad robot stepped in and saved her. Had he not cut off Bass’ arm, she wouldn’t be here now. The story gets her quite a few pats of sympathy from her classmates, they’re very sorry she got caught up in such a traumatic event. But, at this point it’s almost a part of growing up. Nobody says it, but they all know it deep down. At this point, people who haven’t been caught in an attack are rare.

Hiroko’s story did more than just earn sympathy from her classmates, however. They now question the media’s image of the new hero. He was late to the scene, but there’s no denying he’s trying. He stepped in to save Hiroko, and they can respect that. The media themselves said he went all out to get those alive help, so… why is there a question against his heroism?

One classroom of students can hardly change the opinion of a whole city, though. They’re likely to keep their new found knowledge to themselves, but so long as people start to believe in him, like him, Nik’s image as a hero will get better. It will just take time.

Once the teacher enters the room, the class rep breaks up the crowd and classes begin for the day.

School seems to drag on when you’re injured. It feels like days for Hiroko by the time the school day is over. She’s about to head home when Nichole calls out to her, reminding the brunette of their plans to study for the upcoming trig test in a few days. She could always use the extra help, it’s not an easy math class by any means.

Hiroko stays true to her words spoken Saturday, she can’t stand the thought of getting on a bus. So, the girls walk to Nichole’s house. Nichole’s leg not being fully healed, their walk takes a bit longer than it normally would. They take the extra time to discuss the day’s robotics class, make a few jokes about the commotion about the attack…

They go silent after a small bout of laughter. Thinking back, it wasn’t funny at all. Nichole has to admit, though, it felt nice to laugh at it like it was no big deal. Like it didn’t hurt her at all. It has the opposite effect on her friend. Hiroko’s laughter was obviously forced, her face contorts into one of discomfort. Before she can think of anything to say to actually lighten the mood, Nichole’s hand finds the knob of her door. She alerts Hiroko that they’ve arrived.

Upon entering, Blues is nowhere to be found. Good, Nichole thinks, no distractions this time.

A distraction is all Hiroko is asking for. In order to escape the still fresh memories haunting her, she begins to hyper fixate on every small thing she can. She notices things about Nichole’s dwelling. It’s much bigger than one would expect for a teenager who lives alone. Which brings her thoughts around to the fact that she never sees any adults around either. Does Nichole not have parents? Are they out of town?

While Nichole is setting up their study area, Hiroko decides to try asking.

“Hey, Nichole. I just realized that… I never see any adults around here? Is it just you and Blues?”

Nichole looks up from some papers she’s picking up. “Oh, yeah. My parents aren’t exactly in the picture. It’s been just me for quite some time now.”

“How can you afford this house, though? It’s huge, and I don’t ever hear you talk about having a job or anything.” She begins to think maybe her questions are getting a little too prying. Maybe she’s making Nichole uncomfortable with them; but they’re providing her with a distraction for the time being, so she pushes those thoughts to the back of her mind as Nichole starts speaking.

“I have some on and off paid internships with a few engineering companies. I mostly help design blueprints right now. That’s also why I’m so far ahead in our robotics and engineering classes. Right now, they’re all busy with projects an intern like me ‘has no place being involved with’, so I have free time until they’re finished.”

“Why the sudden interest?”

Hiroko shrugs, trying to play it off as general curiosity rather than her trying to derail other thought trains. A couple more questions come up regarding how she was able to get in so easily on those internships when she’s only fifteen years old, how long she’s been interning for, what kind of blueprints she draws up, and so on.

Nichole has other plans for them to actually get to studying this time. Hiroko begrudgingly drops her questions and the girls unpack their notebooks, calculator, and trig book to begin their homework and studies. Not that Hiroko can focus much. Between questions, her thoughts drift back to Saturday. The smoke, the fire, the pain, the fear.

The fiery red eyes glowing with malice.

She becomes faintly aware of Nichole calling her name.

“Are you having trouble? You’ve been staring at the same question for some time now.”

The brunette shakes her head. “Ah, yeah. But I figured it out, thanks.” No, it’s not the problem she’s stuck on. It’s the attack. How can Nichole act so normal after something like that? Has she been caught in them before? Maybe those kinds of things just… don’t bother her? She doesn’t understand how, but maybe they don’t.

“Maybe we should call it a night. You don’t look so good.” The concern in the ginger’s voice was unexpected, but not unwelcome. Hiroko nods, standing to pack up her bag only to wince in pain. Another flash of those red eyes when she clenches hers shut in a grimace.

Nichole takes a moment to pack the bag for her friend and dig out her pain meds. She hands them to Hiroko with a glass of water before going into the next room. Hiroko takes the pills quickly, wanting to chase the pain away as soon as possible.

Once Nichole returns, Blues is with her. He says he’s going to walk her home and quickly shuts down any protests she may have by grabbing her heavy backpack. He shoulders it on one shoulder before turning to the door.

Hiroko huffs, joining him outside, insisting she can at least carry her bag. He doesn’t reply, and he doesn’t hand it to her.


End file.
